SDSU defeats Hawai'i 8-4 to earn first MPSF victory on Thursday at the Aztec Aquaplex.

March 15, 2012

SAN DIEGO -
The No. 8 San Diego State water polo team recorded their first Mountain Pacific Sports Federation win against No.14 Hawai'i on Thursday at the Aztec Aquaplex. With the victory, SDSU moved to 12-6 and 1-3 in league play, while the Rainbow Wahine dropped to 4-8 and 0-4 in league play.

The Aztecs jumped out to a 3-1 start after the first quarter of play. Amber Pezzolla would score the first goal of the game off of Alex Ford's shot that fired off of the crossbar. Leanne Ford then fired a shot past the goalie giving SDSU a two-goal lead. With 30 seconds remaining in the first period, freshman Taelor Moreno skipped one through the hands of the Rainbow Wahine's goalie Serena Reid, giving the Aztecs a 3-1 edge going into the second period.

Hawai'i would score the first goal of the second period at the 5:34 mark. San Diego State answered back when Emily Whalen drew an ejection from two-meters allowing Meaghan Poland to score her first goal of the game. The Rainbow Wahine then struck at the 3:20 mark, cutting San Diego State's lead to one. The first half of play ended when Leanne Ford scored her second goal of the game to give the Aztecs a 5-3 advantage.

Meaghan Poland made her presence known in the third quarter drawing an ejection at the 6:53 mark. Poland would then score her second goal of the game, to make the score 6-3 in favor of the Aztecs. Poland continued her stellar play by drawing a penalty shot with 5:55 left to play. Leanne Ford completed the hat trick for the game when she converted a penalty shot to close out the third period and extend SDSU's lead to four.

It would be a quiet fourth period for both teams. Taelor Moreno scored her second goal of the game giving the Aztecs an 8-3 advantage over the Rainbow Wahine. Emily Carr of Hawai'i would then score the last goal of the game at the 3:55 mark, but SDSU ultimately was victorious by an 8-4 margin.

San Diego State has a busy weekend ahead of them with four home games at the Aztec Aquaplex. SDSU will face off against Bucknell on Saturday morning in its first game of the Aztec Invitational hosted by Courtyard Marriott. First sprint for the Aztecs is set for 9:15am and admission is free to the public.